Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Continued Coverage of James Brown Tribute; Saddam Hussein's Body Taken To Tikrit For Burial

Aired December 30, 2006 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

REV. JESSE JACKSON: ... formerly a slave port. New Year's Eve night, 1862, is where we held our first Watch Night services. Lincoln promised that we'd have the Emancipation Proclamation January 1st, 1863. We couldn't believe it, after 246 years of landing in the ports of Augusta and Savannah, Georgia and across the South.
So tomorrow night we have Watch Night, not just for another year but for God bringing us across the river out of the dark night of slavery. Out of the grit and grime of that crisis emerges King James, the Father of Soul, the Godfather. Your soul is sealing (ph) and pathos and passion and essence and the capacity to project it. King James was rightfully crowned the Godfather of Soul. He had the capacity to turn lemons into lemonade with a little sugar.

He had to shine shoes from the popping of the rag, he developed his rhythm along with the hambone, a rhythmic art form. He had mastered rhythm. He was born in the blues and put a real beat to it, thus he mastered rhythm and blues.

The writers say James survived personal storms. He was born in a blizzard, Southern oppressive law. He faced a hit (INAUDIBLE) limitations, born 22 years before Rosa Parks and Dr. King emerged in Montgomery, Alabama.

James never saw a black policeman or fireman or town administrator as a child. He wore the burden of race and rejection on his shoulders, and yet, he never walked bent over. He said, "Call me Mr. Brown. Reverend, don't let them call you Jesse, wear you handle with dignity."

Young artists, don't just admire his work ethic, follow his work ethic and his sense of nonnegotiable dignity in the struggle to become better, and make the nation better. We cannot go from singing, "Before I'll be a slave, I'll die and be buried in my grave, ain't going to let nobody turn me around, happy birthday Martin Luther King, I am black and I'm proud" down to, "You's a nigger," a term of self- degradation, not endearment. We must rise above our pain, not recycle it.

James Brown did not just happen. He did not just fall out of the sky. He came out of the womb of rhythm and brass sounds of Augusta and Savannah, Georgia. To know James Brown, writers, you have to know Leon Allston (ph) and the Buicks. You have to know the Swanny Quintet (ph), Reverend Willingham and Big Red and Jesus never fails. You have to know the House of Prayer, the Shout Bands, Debora Grace (ph) and Lucy Lana Hyde (ph). James Brown came out of that womb. Before there was a Motown in Detroit, there was a soul of grit of Augusta, and Savannah, G.A. The timing, the four-fourth beat.

He upstaged Santa on Christmas day. The news did not cover Santa going back to the North Pole, but it covered James Brown, making his heavenly flight. Santa couldn't get into some houses because the chimneys were too small, the folks were too poor, but James somehow made it in everybody's house without a key.

He turned a jail cell into a studio and a learning center. He turned scars into stars. He was a survivor, a performer, a singer, a dancer, a humanitarian, a voice full of social order, a transformer.

His music crossed over. James did not cross over. He had no identity crisis. As a child growing up in Greensville, South Carolina, where I first met James in 1955, he would come to the Garden Motel (ph) with Leon and the Buicks and the Swannies, and a black- owned motel in Greenville and after, "Please, please, please," he would go to Textile Hall, where they held a big dance and live concerts.

There was a big partition separating blacks from whites. The artist would perform for the whites first, and then come over to the black side. James would not cross over. He made the people cross over to the black side to see and hear him, and the Flames. We could not cross over to the white side, but they could cross over to the black side, and they did to the magnetism of James Brown. James did not cross over. The music crossed over.

We sum up his life: he was born with little, inherited nothing, and left a lot. Born with little, inherited nothing, and left a lot. Many are born with a lot, inherit more, and leave nothing. Sons and daughters of inheritors, looking at life top-down, see life different than sons and daughters of work ethic and cold sweat.

Reverend, you should not sugarcoat James Brown's downside. I say put it in perspective. In the baseball game, you are not measured by the home run you hit in one inning, or the strikeout in the next inning, or the misjudgment of a foul ball or the great catch of a dropped ball. You are measured by the inning and the box score, by the batting average. No one bats .1000. You're measured by runs you batted in, Reverend Sharpton, and Mayfield (ph) and Fred and Leon, and Reverend Jackson, several generations. You are judged by the box score, the final inning.

James Brown is a winner. He put dignity above dollars, and did not follow a path. He blazed a trail. He did not follow opinion polls. He molded opinions. He would say, "Crossover to me. I am the real thing. Don't give me nothing. Open the door to the termination. I'm black and I'm proud." I hear my self-affirmation with the children. Please, please, please, try me, night train, prison of love, give the drummer some, come on, Mayfield, let me hear you Fred, Santa goes straight to the ghetto, you don't. I will feed the hungry myself. I Will give toys and I will take the stage on Christmas day. Give the drummer some. James is the substance of things hoped for, the faith we talk about, he is the evidence of things that few saw, faith, born in the slum. The slum was not born in him. Faith, like Joe Belushlamy (ph), yet will I trust you. I know Myra Damo (ph) lives. We met in jail in Columbia, South Carolina. He said, "They shot up my truck. They blew out my tires. They shot it 22 times, but, Reverend, I am a miracle. I'm still here."

Faith: it's dark, but the morning cometh. Faith can take you from the guttermost to the uttermost. Faith, I fall down but I get up again, because the ground is no place for a champion. Faith, nothing is too hard for God, and so ride on, King James. You've led it on your good foot, and good God, you're landing on the good foot.

Come on, Mayfield, come on Fred, come on Bobby, come on Reverend Sharpton, come on! We have reason to celebrate. Good God, what a man, what a life, what a legacy!

Give it up for James Brown. We love you so much.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reverend Jesse Jackson.

LIN: The people who loved James Brown have called this not so much a memorial service but what they call a "Coming Home Service," as the body of James Brown lays in a casket at the foot of the James Brown Arena stage.

We have heard from some of music's greats, as well as some of the most compelling speakers of our time. Pop star Michael Jackson called James Brown his greatest inspiration, a master. But perhaps what was the most personal moment was to hear from James Brown's daughters, his children, and his son, talking about the influence that their father had on their lives, as well as the bittersweet sorrow of sharing the last moments of his life.

And there, Jesse Jackson, talking about a man who was uncompromising, a spokesperson for the poor, someone who played for the common people. James Brown, not only a master in his own rite as the Godfather of Soul, but someone who just about everybody could relate to.

Our continuing coverage of this Coming Home Service continues right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: A historic day of good-byes unfolding around the world. In Augusta, Georgia, live pictures from a farewell tour for the Godfather of Soul. And in our nation's capitol, a final homecoming for former President Gerald Ford. And in Baghdad, the execution of Saddam Hussein. Will his death have a lasting impact on the insurgency?

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin.

All that and more after this quick check of the headlines.

In Augusta, Georgia today, a farewell and funeral for the larger than life entertainer James Brown. Fans lined up before dawn at the arena named after the singer. Brown died Christmas morning after being hospitalized for pneumonia.

And carrying the Koran, Saddam Hussein is led to the gallows and executed for crimes against humanity. Witnesses said Hussein acted normally and seemed unafraid of his fate. His body has been taken to his hometown of Tikrit for burial.

Dozens of other Iraqis died today as well. In the hours after Saddam Hussein's execution, bombings in two Shiite areas killed at least 66 people and wounded more than 100.

On the lookout, also, for nasty weather in New Orleans. Heavy rain could hit the area today, just a week after another storm caused flooding in and around the city.

Earlier today, a tornado hit a rural part of south Louisiana. No injuries were reported.

First this hour, the hanging death of Saddam Hussein. Hussein was put to death by masked Iraqis at a government building in Baghdad that staged executions during his rule. Video of the noose being fitted was shown on Iraqi television, which later showed pictures of the body. Iraqi initial reactions, so far somewhat muted.

From Baghdad, here's CNN's Aneesh Raman.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The burial of Saddam Hussein is expected to take place by around 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning in the village of Alja (ph) just south of the city of Tikrit, the same place where, 69 years ago, Saddam Hussein was born.

His remains, retrieved earlier today by tribal leaders from the area, transported out of the capital, presumably by U.S. military aircraft. We understand the remains are now, as we speak, at a house of one of those tribal leaders. Sunni clerics are reciting prayers.

Saddam Hussein will be buried alongside his two sons, Uday and Qusay, who, of course, were killed back in 2003 during a shoot out with U.S. forces. The burial will cap a 24 hour period of dramatic history for the Iraqi people. December 30th, an immortal moment for them, as they saw Saddam Hussein, the once tyrannical leader of Iraq, spending his final moments as a common criminal.

In the video that has now been seen around the world, Saddam entered the gallows surrounded by a number of masked guards. A black cloth was placed around his neck, then a noose. And within minutes, Saddam Hussein had been executed.

Reaction on the streets was relatively muted but predictably falling along sectarian lines. In Sadr City in the capital, there were people out on the streets celebrating the death of Saddam Hussein, some of them with effigies of Saddam being hung. In his hometown of Tikrit, again, the village of Alja just near there, there is a four-day lockdown in place. Despite that, some people did go to the streets to voice their continued support for Saddam Hussein.

The lingering question, of course: how will, if at all, the execution of Saddam Hussein affect the situation on the ground? Certainly, it will bring emotional satisfaction to many Shia and Kurds who suffered greatly under Saddam's regime. Certainly, as well, it will deepen the divide between Saddam loyalists and the Iraqi government. The government, eager to try to bring them into the political fold.

But in terms of the violence an early suggestion: as the world focused on the death of Saddam Hussein, at least 60 Iraqis were killed in attacks throughout the country.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

LIN: Well, the White House says President Bush learned of the hanging after awaking at his ranch before dawn. He issued a statement saying Hussein received justice.

With us from Washington, White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

So, Suzanne, is the administration confident that there won't be any violent repercussions as a result of this execution?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the administration, of course, has put the military on high alert, whether or not there was -- in anticipation there would be violence. But so far, it looks like that has abated. So they are just holding their breath at this time.

The president, as you know, is at his Crawford ranch watching developments very closely. He woke up in the 5:00 hour to a phone call from his national security adviser Stephen Hadley, who updated him and confirmed that Saddam Hussein had, in fact, been executed and the world's response to it. After that ten-minute call, the president was briefed by his intelligence national security team. And a spokesman has said later in the day that this was really the culmination of the Iraqi judicial process, and that justice was done.

Yesterday President Bush released a statement about Saddam Hussein's execution, saying, "Today Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial, the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime. It is a testament to the Iraqi's people to resolve to move forward after decades of oppression."

He went on to say this would not have been possible without the Iraqi people's determination to create a society governed by the rule of law.

So what you see here is the Bush administration trying to stress that this was a decision that was made by a sovereign government, the Iraqi people. Also, the administration, trying to justify that look, this was a brutal leader who deserved to be removed from power, that, of course, even without having weapons of mass destruction, that being the justification the administration used for the Iraq war -- Carol.

LIN: All right. Suzanne, thank you.

Coming up also today, one of our other big stories, one last good-bye for the Godfather Of soul. And this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Politics was Gerald Ford's second love. His first was partner and friend of more than 50 years, his wife, Betty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Through ups and downs and decades, the love affair of Gerald and Betty Ford.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: A final tribute to the Godfather of Soul. Thousands of people turned out for James Brown's funeral in Augusta, Georgia. Devoted fans who couldn't get into the packed memorial service jammed the streets outside.

So let's check in with Catherine Callaway, who's been outside for most of the afternoon, live in Augusta.

Catherine, you've had a chance to talk with some of the people out there who -- you know, they talk about seeing James Brown in concert when they were children and even just that one experience...

CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE)

LIN: Yes, one experience had them standing outside the arena in the rain.

CALLAWAY: And not just that, Carol. Some of these people drove from California, from Chicago and never really even got into the arena, although thousands did. They were able to file right past the coffin, his gold coffin sitting in front of the stage here at the James Brown Arena.

But around noon, Carol, they shut the doors. They were filled to capacity, some 8,100 people and they just could not let anyone else in because they wanted to get the so-called celebration, the homecoming celebration started, so that they could begin hearing from all the celebrities that we haven't heard from yet on how much James Brown meant to them, and how he influenced their lives.

And that's exactly what they did. But probably the biggest applause came when Michael Jackson appeared. And he actually walked up to the coffin, without -- with Jesse Jackson by his side, and kissed James Brown on the forehead. And he later spoke, as did Jesse Jackson and the Reverend Al Sharpton. A number of people spoke.

But perhaps the most emotional moment was when we heard from the children of James Brown, especially the daughters, speaking of how much their father meant to them, and their last memories of James Brown.

But, Carol, I have to tell you that people are still here, hoping there may be some way they could get into the arena to see James Brown for the last time. I don't think it's going to happen, but they're not giving up. It's amazing.

LIN: All right. Well, at least we're able to bring some of the live pictures to our audience. This, I think, tape of earlier, the live pictures as this service continues, Catherine.

So hope springs eternal. Perhaps there might be one more chance to get inside. But we'll see.

In the meantime, this afternoon, really our coverage has been enhanced by Christopher John Farley, who is the music editor for the "Wall Street Journal". He's in New York.

And, Christopher, really appreciate the time that you've given us this afternoon. I want to go over some of the last moments that we took live here on our air, where we actually got to hear not only from Michael Jackson, but from some of James Brown's children. And boy, yes, I heard love, but one of the daughters, the second daughter who spoke, Yamma (ph)?

CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Yes.

LIN: ... was talking about how -- she almost hinted at some kind of an estrangement from her family. She said that she'd been living in Atlanta, didn't get a chance to see her father very much, but was the one called to the hospital since he was being treated in Atlanta. And she talked about sitting by his bedside and what that meant to her, to be able to talk to him.

FARLEY: Yes, obviously emotions were running high throughout the Brown family. We heard some of that come out. I think it's often the case when you have a parent who is in show business that, you know, you want to have some me time, some time where you can connect with that star who's loved by so many people yourself.

I think it's also worth noting the common theme that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson hit in their speeches when they talked about really using James Brown's life as a metaphor and as a rebuke to a lot of modern music, that perhaps modern music has gone too far and that values have been eroded and they're using words that shouldn't be used in music, like the n-word. And I think both Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson seemed intent on getting that theme across as part of the message today.

LIN: Absolutely. And that James Brown was a spokesperson for people who didn't have a voice, the poor, as they called them, the common people that he sang and danced for them.

FARLEY: I think it's also worth noting that, although they want to use his life as rebuke to the n-word that Dick Gregory (ph), one of the other speakers, his auto biography was called the n-word. So there is some interesting messages going on on the stage tonight.

LIN: All right, which is continuing as we speak.

Christopher, thank you.

FARLEY: Thank you.

LIN: Coming up, also a big day here.

We're going to follow up on the execution of Saddam Hussein. I'm going to talk and walk you through the former Iraqi dictator's final moments on the gallows.

And the body of Gerald Ford is heading back to Washington. Plans for his state funeral, coming up just ten minutes from now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: A nation mourns as a leader's final journey home continues. The body of former President Gerald Ford left California earlier today, heading to the nation's capitol, where it's due in the next hour. Its part of six days of national mourning. Our Gary Nurenberg has more on what's next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. Ford's casket will rest atop the same catafalque that held Abraham Lincoln's. It is already in place in the capitol rotunda where mourners will be given a chance to pay their respects tonight, Sunday and Monday. On the National Mall east of the capitol, workers have established the cues in which the public will wait before entering the capitol. Security was evident this morning as police prepared. Parking is restricted, some streets have been closed. The motorcade will pause at the World War II memorial, Mr. Ford served in the navy in that war. President Bush noted that service in today's radio address.

BUSH: Gerald Ford always believed in the importance of answering the call to duty and he was there for the nation when we needed him most. In December 1973, he accepted the responsibilities of the vice presidency. In the following August he became president of the United States without ever seeking the office. Providence gave us Gerald Ford's steady hand and calm leadership during a time of great division and turmoil. He guided America through a crisis of confidence, and helped our nation mend its wounds by restoring faith in our system of government.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

NURENBERG: As Mr. Ford's motorcade approaches the capitol it will pause briefly at the World War II memorial, it will be greeted there by women members of the military and some women graduates of the service academies that were open to women when Mr. Ford signed legislation allowing women to enter them in 1974. Then it's on to the capitol where Mr. Ford served for parts of four different decades. The public will be allowed to file past the casket as it lies in state later tonight. Public access also again tomorrow and on Monday. Carol?

LIN: Gary and the state funeral set for Tuesday?

NURENBERG: It is at the National Cathedral, former President Clinton, former President Carter and former President Bush will join the current President Bush in a tribute at the National Cathedral.

LIN: Gary, thank you.

Well great love story in Gerald Ford's life. If there was one constant in his life, it was his wife Betty Ford. CNN's Randi Kaye looks at a love affair that lasted more than half a century.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Politics was Gerald Ford's second love. His first was partner and friend of more than 50 years, his wife, Betty.

BETTY FORD: We just thanked the good Lord for the days he's given us, and we just hope to keep going, as Jerry says, another 50.

CARL SFERRAZZA ANTHONY, AUTHOR, "FIRST LADIES": I think they enjoyed each other's company enormously.

KAYE: Carl Sferrazza Anthony has known the Ford family for a quarter century and has written about many first ladies. He saw first-hand the love affair between Betty Ford and the former president.

SFERRAZZA: On that day he inherited the presidency when Nixon resigned he immediately mentioned and thanked his wife in his speech. And that basically said he had no obligation to anyone except one person, his wife, and that was unprecedented.

KAYE: Gerald Ford first met Betty Bloomer back in 1947 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They married the following year, two weeks before he was elected to his first term in Congress. Over the years, through four children, a host of health problems, and personal battles, their affections only grew.

SFERRAZZA: He certainly was a man who had absolutely no reservations about kissing his wife in public. And I think as president that was really unprecedented.

KAYE: In 1974, when Betty Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer, just a month after they moved into the White House, they'd battled it together. And when she went public with her prescription drug and alcohol dependency, it was Mr. Ford who stopped drinking. SFERRAZZA: He decided that he would stop drinking. He would do that not because he thought he had any problem or she thought he had a problem, but simply because it would make it easier for her.

KAYE: Their love for one another was not lost on the public, or the media, and the first lady handled questions about it with her hallmark frankness.

SFERRAZZA: She said, "You know, I've been asked every possible personal question except how often I sleep with my husband," and the interviewer said, "And if somebody asked you that?" "Well I'd say I'd sleep with him as often as possible." You never heard a first lady before since talking about sleeping with her husband.

KAYE: With her husband at her side, Betty Ford set a new standard for White House candor. She let the nation know she and the president would be sharing the same bedroom, a first at the White House.

SFERRAZZA: He was one of those men, I think, atypical of his generation, who was not at all threatened by a strong, articulate woman.

KAYE: In the end, it was Betty Ford who released word of her husband's passing to the nation, not a family spokesperson or friend. With a love so deep, who would have expected less? Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: At the top of the hour, CNN's Wolf Blitzer anchors a special four-hour edition of "SITUATION ROOM," the death of President Ford. It begins at 5:00 p.m. eastern time so be sure to stay with us for that.

In the meantime, no one knows whether the execution of Saddam Hussein will change anything on the ground. Coming up --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was very, very normal, totally oblivious to what was going on around him.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: The former Iraqi dictator's last seconds, described by an eyewitness to the execution. Hear more just ahead. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Just before Baghdad's morning dawn, a dark page of Iraqi history turned. With the execution of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein, his reign of terror over at the end of a rope. CNN's Ryan Chilcote explains and brings us back to Saddam's final and fateful moments on the gallows. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The silent video begins as Iraqi prison guards lead Saddam Hussein to the gallows. The judge charged with supervising the execution was in the room.

MUNIR HADDAD, APPEALS JUDGE: He was very, very normal, totally oblivious to what was going on around him. I was very surprised. He was not afraid of death.

CHILCOTE: His arms handcuffed behind him, his walk hindered by shackles, Saddam appears disoriented and resigned to his fate, as the camera panned to the trap door that will send him to his death.

HADDAD: He was saying "God is greatest, the invaders and their enemies will go to hell and we will go to heaven."

CHILCOTE: Witnesses reported that moments later an argument broke out between Saddam and his masked executioners.

HADDAD: One of the guards told him, "You destroyed Iraq." He said, "No, I built Iraq and made it prosperous and destroyed its enemies."

CHILCOTE: Saddam's guards tried to put a hood over his head but Saddam refused. The guards instead wrapped it around his neck. In his final moments, the judge said some of the witnesses taunted Saddam, by shouting out praise for radical Shia cleric Muqtada al Sadr, whose family was persecuted under Saddam's rule. The video freezes just before Saddam falls to his death. The judge said Saddam began but failed to respond to the chants. The judge later showed us photos of himself and Saddam during the trial. He says they had a professional relationship.

HADDAD: The moment he was hanged, I walked out of the room because I hate this site. It is repulsive.

CHILCOTE: Iraqi TV then showed video of Saddam's body covered in a white shroud, proof of death, and last images of the once all- powerful tyrant. Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: But the question now is, is Iraq or even the United States closer to chaos? How will Hussein's execution impact Iraq's insurgency? David Gompert is the senior fellow at the Rand Corporation and served as senior adviser for the coalition provisional authority in Iraq. David good to have you.

DAVID GOMPERT, SR. FELLOW, RAND CORPORATION: Good to be here.

LIN: Do you think that with Saddam now dead is there a more immediate threat of some form of retaliation against the United States?

GOMPERT: Well, I think there is an underlying threat but I don't think that threat has been made any greater by the hanging.

LIN: Well, specifically, let me bring you this. There was a statement that was released by the Baathist Party and I'm going to paraphrase here but in affect it says our party is warning you again of the repercussions of carrying out this sentence, and its effects on the situation in Iraq. A threat, a veiled threat, but a threat.

GOMPERT: It's a threat from a part of the Sunni insurgency that has grown steadily weaker over the last several years. Originally after the American occupation the former regime elements and the Saddamists loyalists were the dominant element in that Sunni insurgency. But over the last few years, it has been really taken over by religious radicals, by Jihadists both Iraqi and foreign. So I think the fact that there has been such a subdued reaction so far, at least, is an indication of just how weak the former Baathist element has become in the insurgency, which should not be taken as any kind of a reassurance, because the radicals within that insurgency have a much more extreme agenda than the baathists did.

LIN: Well they don't need an excuse to attack America. Any opportunity would do, right?

GOMPERT: That's absolutely right.

LIN: All right. So were you surprised then that it was relatively muted? It was a violent day in Baghdad, but unfortunately, no more violent than usual.

GOMPERT: That's true. Also, what is significant, I believe, is how subdued the reaction was among the Shia, who of course, were terribly brutalized over several decades by Saddam. But I think the fact that it was so muted, that is that the celebrations were not extreme, is also significant, because it is an indication of just how confident the Shia have become and how determined they are to consolidate their power and to rule Iraq. If anything, there could be a subtle reinforcement of that maturity and that confidence in the Shia community, which again, suggests that they have no intention whatsoever of relaxing their grip on power in Iraq.

LIN: So what happens next, do you think? Is this just a page in history?

GOMPERT: Yes, I think this is just a page in history. I mean, if you go back as far as three years ago, when Saddam was initially caught, there really wasn't much of a reaction when he was put before trial, there wasn't much of a reaction when he was found guilty. Recall that there really wasn't much of a change when Zarqawi was killed. I think what this indicates is that there are some very powerful underlying forces, forces of local tension between Sunni and Shia, but also increasingly forces of Jihadism at work that really transcend the personalities involved and certainly transcend the personality of Saddam Hussein.

LIN: Absolutely. David Gompert, thank you very much. I just want to clarify when I said unfortunately no more violent than usual it's just that any day in Iraq it seems that there are too many deaths to report. Appreciate your time.

GOMPERT: My pleasure.

LIN: Well the hardest working man in showbiz is laid to rest. Coming up, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM, generations of music fans say good-bye to James Brown. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Time now to go global with headlines from around the world. And right now there is a desperate search for survivors in the waters off Indonesia. A 16-foot wave slammed into a passenger ferry last night, sinking it. Only about 60 people have been rescued. More than 500 are still missing.

In Madrid, Spain, two people are missing and 26 hurt after a bombing at the city's airport. Officials say a car bomb detonated inside a parking garage, collapsing part of the building. The Basque separatist group Etta is being blamed for the attack, it comes nine months after the group declared a cease-fire.

And millions of Muslims are in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, making the annual hajj. Today pilgrims started celebrating the sacred feast of Eid al Adha. The pilgrimage wraps up Tuesday. Now every Muslim who can afford to make the track to Mecca is obligated to do so once in a lifetime. An increasing number of pilgrims are coming from Africa where Islam is steadily spreading. Reporting from Mecca, CNN's Zain Verjee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Saudi soil at last, they come from all corners of the African continent, all bound for the holy city of Mecca. A rare opportunity for most, the Saudi government gives the green light each year to only one in every thousand Muslims from Subsaharan Africa to perform the hajj.

(on camera): Islam is the fastest growing religion in Africa. There's a huge African presence here in Mecca, this year about 150,000 both old and young.

(voice-over): One of the youngest pilgrims we met here is 23- year-old Mufida Bashir from Nigeria. She's a primary school teacher who left her three children with her mother. Traditionally most Muslims perform hajj later in life, but Mufida says she's wanted to make the pilgrimage for years.

MUFIDA BASHIR: I like to come here. It's an opportunity to come.

VERJEE: She says youth is not an obstacle when it comes to the hajj, but a big challenge facing Muslim women in Nigeria is being forced to marry too young. BASHIR: It really ruins their lives. I mean it frustrates them, it's just terrible for young girl, 15 year old girl to get married.

VERJEE: How old were you when you got married? After fixing my ever sliding head scarf, Mufida talks about her most moving moment in Mecca?

BASHIR: Just seeing the Kaaba has changed my life forever.

VERJEE: Faith for these young women is not only about ritual and prayer but also about reaching out in a search for a deeper understanding of the Muslim concept of the Umma, universal brotherhood, or sisterhood. Zain Verjee, CNN, Mecca.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: Well remembering James Brown, a funeral service for the music legend is wrapping up in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia, at least that's where he spent his childhood. More than 8,000 people packed James Brown Arena. The ceremony for the Godfather of Soul marked more by joy than sorrow.

And there's still much more ahead on CNN. Up next a special four-hour edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM." Wolf Blitzer leads our live coverage as the nation says its final farewell to President Gerald Ford, that's straight ahead on CNN.

From the CNN headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin. We're going to leave you now with some highlights from James Brown's funeral in Augusta, Georgia.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com